Autumn Statement: Stamp Duty hike for high-value homes

Boris Johnson used his speech at the Tory Party Conference to ask the Chancellor to exempt London homes from the "baleful effects" of stamp duty.

George Osborne's third pop at the country's finances this year saw housing - or the "crisis of home ownership" - near the top of the bill.

"How can it be right that the foreign buyer last month of a £140 million flat in Westminster will pay just £26 a week in council tax — the same as the average-value property in that council area?